Final Olympic Thoughts . . .

It usually takes both time and physical distance for me to gain perspective on something as big as being in the middle of the Olympic cyclone. I got a head start as I walked through the Main Press Center on August, 25th. The entire place was in teardown mode. I walked by offices used by media outlets and the door signs identifying them were gone. Every last sign was gone. I walked by the Chinese Olympic Committee office and the only thing left was a hand written sign that read, “Closed.” Volunteers were tearing down the “You are Here,” maps that had long become ignored as we media people mastered every nook and cranny of the MPC. Though it was a strange scene, it wasn’t as desperate an exodus as I had expected. The previous two nights, I had seen scores of taxis lined up outside and I can only guess lots of people made their getaway early. The night of the 24th had a “Last ‘copter out of Saigon” vibe. I expected it to continue to the 25th, but it didn’t. So rather than me leaving the Olympics, the Olympics were leaving me - Odd feeling.
Packing up and moving other photographers into hotels outside of the Olympic Zone only reinforced the feeling of the end. This was Closure with a capital “C.” The upside was that we’d finally leave the security bubble. As a friend and colleague stated, “After landing three weeks ago, we finally get to go to China!” I wasn’t so much interested in going to as tasting China. I wanted – no, needed - a good meal! I made reservations at a dumpling restaurant and a number of photographers finally enjoyed some good food. Never mind that the restaurant is chain based in Taiwan (hey, you ask a Taiwanese person to make dinner reservations, this is what you get!). Food was fantastic. In case you are ever in a major Asian city, check to see if Din Tai Fung has a restaurant there. The New York Times named it one of the ten best restaurants in the world. Well, at least that’s what the propaganda on their menu says. A good meal in my stomach only reinforced the fact that I was no longer having the Olympic experience.
I can’t overstate how important the Olympics were to the average man on the street. Families were having a ball taking snapshots on the Olympic Green. A taxi driver gushed with pride as he told me of the day he took his wife and daughter to the Bird’s Nest Stadium to watch Track and Field one day. People were glued to their T.V. sets. By contrast, when San Francisco was bidding for a future Olympics, a bunch of friend and I talked about the traffic congestion it would cause; what if any, economic benefit would come of it, etc. If it had been Los Angeles bidding on the Games, we would have just yawned. Not the case in China. Whether good or bad in your personal opinion, these Olympics were undeniable important to the Chinese people. I dare say this was their version of sending a man to the moon.
The experience was also very humbling. I was elbow-to-elbow with some of the best photographers on the planet. It’s hard to look at your own pictures after seeing what some of these guys can do. Some of the athletes' stories also put things in perspective. I watched a guy from Papua New Guinea competing in boxing. If you know anything about Papua New Guinea, you know that a man has to beat long odds just to live above the poverty line and here was man who somehow made it to the Olympics. I saw a one-man-team from the Marshall Islands get pummeled in Taekwondo. But he was at the Olympics representing his country. More power to him. I’m sure NBC probably beat these human interest stories to death and that’s a shame because some are truly remarkable and shouldn’t be neatly packaged into a 3 minute video that fills space between events and commercials.
I’ve been asked several times what was my favorite sport or athlete to cover. That’s tough to answer but I can say I have the most admiration and just-plain-awe for the gymnasts, especially the women. My reasoning is this. I can swim. I can play basketball. I can run down the track. So can you. We certainly cannot do these things at the level of Michael Phelps or Yao Ming or Usain Bolt, but we can do these things. What separates these Olympians from the rest of mankind is the speed, distance or magnitude of how they do what they do. Contrast that to the gymnastics. There simply are not many people who can do a back flip on a balance beam. And the uneven bars? Please. That’s one-way ticket into a body cast for 99.9% of the world’s population. Normal people can’t do these things in any capacity. That’s the reasoning behind my admiration for them. This is what, in my mind, sets these athletes apart.
But you know what? My finally cheeseburger tally was 14! Take that Michael Phelps. In your face, Usain Bolt! Get to the back of the line, Nastia Liukin!

Thanks for logging on to my blog. It’s been a fantastic few weeks. I wish you could have been here with me.


. . . Until the next Great Huja Adventure . . .